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MONEY COMMENT
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Britons spend a whopping £115 billion at supermarkets every year. That is equivalent to almost £5,000 per household or £2,000 for every man, woman and child annually. In five years time we could be spending an eye-popping £134 billion on our groceries, though much of this growth is attributed to inflation. Groceries account for around 13% household bills in Britain, and it is the third biggest area of expenditure for most of us. In fact, groceries account for nearly 50p in every pound of retail spending. Consequently, any savings that you can make on your grocery shopping can reduce your overall expenditure quite significantly. So here are my top 5 tips to cut your grocery bills. A Weekly Menu Planning a weekly menu is such a no-brainer that I am embarrassed to even include it as a tip. But lots of people don't bother with a menu, so before you even head down to the shops, do a quick reckie of what is in your kitchen cupboards, fridge, freezer and pantry. Determine what edibles you have lying around that you can use for meals in the week ahead. Furthermore, a recent research report suggested that Briton needlessly waste money on food that goes off before it can be consumed. A figure of £424 was suggested for the annual food wastage per person every year. Consequently a little careful planning could cut your annual food bills by as much as a fifth! Coupons Don't underestimate the savings that you can make by cutting out coupons. Quite often, coupons are part of the packaging so always check wrappers and cartons carefully before you lob them into the swing-bin. You could also find coupons tucked away in magazines, so be careful about discarding those before flicking through them too. Pick The Right Stores Be prepared to shop around to find the best bargains on the market. Your local supermarket may claim to have the lowest prices on hundreds of items, but it doesn't mean they have the best prices for everything. Apart from the popular discount supermarkets, there is group of discounters known in the trade as "Limited Assortment Discounters". These hard discounters that include Lidl, Aldi and Netto will often stock a range of 1,000 private labels at very competitive prices. Multi-Buys At the top of this article I said holding inventory can cost you money. However, it can sometimes pay to buy in bulk if the savings are greater enough. As a general rule of thumb, if you can save more than 15% by buying more than one item, then it is almost certainly worth considering. Points Mean Prizes Finally, a personal favourite of mine. I always pay for my groceries with a credit card because I get reward points every time I use it. It may not seem like much, but since I have to buy groceries anyway, it's a pity to look a gift horse in the mouth. In general the points equate to a discount of 1% of your transactions, which, is always worth having, in my opinion. You can compare various credit cards here.